Nature in Architecture – Literature in Interdisciplinary Contexts

Five international literature experts from India, Austria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and the Netherlands visited NRW from 11th to 15th September 2019 to engage with literature in an interdisciplinary context as part of the festival »Natur am Bau« at Burg Hülshoff in Havixbeck (Münsterland region).

In 2018 the castle, birthplace of German poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, became the home of the Centre for Literature (CfL). The CfL is an interdisciplinary institution and puts literature together with film, dance, music, architecture, media arts and network arts. As a producing institution it builds connections between local, regional and international writers, other artists and the public. »Anbauen!« (Cultivate!) is one of the eleven thematic focal points of the CfL and in 2019 it became a temporary lab which brought together artists and experts from the fields of architecture, climate policy and landscape ecology, as well as citizens interested in art or gardens.

As part of »Anbauen!«, the CfL organised a multi-day festival entitled »Natur am Bau«  (Nature in Architecture) and a one day international symposium »Ökologie & Wahnsinn« (Ecology & Madness)

The group visited several festival events including performances, readings, as well as video and sound installations, and took part in the symposium.

On top of that they had a meeting with Dr Jörg Albrecht, director of the CfL and artistic director of the festival; they also met with Elke Reiberg from the cultural department of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) as well as this year’s Gotland scholar, Karl Ahlqvist.

In Münster the guests held discussions with Frauke Schnell, director of the Cultural Office, and Sabine Müller, project management and communication. To round everything off, Antje Deistler, director of Literaturbüro Ruhr e.V. (Ruhr region’s Office for Literature), offered an insight into her work.